By: Carolanne Link
You might have seen this viral internet story about a little girl in a wheelchair looking at a makeup advertisement that features a woman in a wheelchair.
This picture and story went viral last week and was picked up by a number of news outlets. The gist is that this 4-year old, Maren, a wheelchair user, and her mother, Carolyn Anderson, were out in Leesburg, Virginia when they passed this Ulta Beauty ad in a window. The mother posted this picture on Facebook with the caption, “Well Ulta, you absolutely stopped my girl in her tracks this evening. It was mesmerizing to watch her stop, turn and gaze at this poster. So thank you”. Anderson told TODAY, “You could just tell that she identified with it from the get go. And for her, a 4-year-old child… to sit there in awe at this photo for close to a minute was pretty profound’ and “Our hearts sort of sank because it’s such a wonderful feeling to see her do that, but then it also is somewhat saddening that this is so profound for her to see in public because of the lack of representation for the disability community, particularly for children”.
This picture brought tears to my eyes. As a person who was born with a disability and is a chair user myself, I struggled during my childhood to find celebrities and icons that I could identify with. I grew up on TV shows like Glee and would get excited when I saw a character with a disability or in a wheelchair, but often I would be somewhat disheartened when I discovered that usually the actors were able-bodied. Therefore, I always felt deeply connected to the disabled character but somewhat disillusioned knowing it wasn’t a genuine portrayal of someone like me. I was so eager to find icons in the media to identify with and make me feel less alienated and different. It wasn’t until I was an adult that I began to see television shows and cinema representing disabled characters by using disabled actors and I can tell you that my heart soared and I would binge-watch all of these instances and tell literally everyone else in my social circle to do so as well. While I am relieved to see this change in media representations, I still felt sad that this came after my formative years.
Oddly, it wasn’t until I was 21 that I discovered the existence of the Paralympics. I had spent my life believing that conventional sports were just beyond my realm of ability. For those who don’t know, the Paralympics are the sister event to the Olympics, with thousands of world-class, elite athletes who happen to have physical disabilities. They are hosted alongside every Olympic Games. The general reaction to hearing about the Paralympics is to assume that it’s some sort of consolidation prize or second-class event compared to its Olympic counterpart. That’s just not true. These athletes are phenomenal specimens of their respective sports and have dedicated their lives, blood, sweat, and tears to their careers, just as their able-body counterparts have. Check them all out during Tokyo 2020! I grew up following the Olympic hype like every other American household: rooting for my country, having teenage crushes on the cute athletes and being wowed by the athletic prowess and talent. So, learning that I could have been doing that my whole life while rooting for someone I could identify with was simultaneously heartwarming and saddening.
While I was attending UCLA, I was lucky enough to discover adaptive sports and began attending the Angel City Games, the premier adaptive sports festival in the Western United States, offering clinics, competitions and special events for people of all ages and skill levels who have a physical disability or mobility impairment. There I watched their Celebrity Wheelchair Basketball Game that included Paralympians and pop culture celebrities playing together. On the court was 4-time Paralympian, current Paralympic coach, and silhouette for the NWBA logo, Trooper Johnson. I had no idea who he was at the time, but I watched him fly down the court and chuck up 3-point shots like it was nothing and my mind was wonderfully blown. This profoundly moving discovery of icons and celebrities of sport that I could identify with mesmerized me just as much as Maren was with the Ulta poster.
I can’t help but wonder how my life would have been different if I had been exposed to adaptive sports and disabled role models during my childhood. My heart and best wishes goes out to Maren since I so deeply and completely identify with her and her moment of awe. I can only wish that 4-year old me had had that same profound moment she had. We, as a society, must continue to push for equal and diverse representations in all facets of our everyday life whether it be makeup ads, cinema and television, or sport. So little girls like Maren and adults like me can feel confident in our own skin and have role models to lead us into a more inclusive future.
Originally Posted: 3 September 2019